Jury trial continues in Pasadena murder case

Rashad McCoy is on trial for the murder of Joseph Jones at Pasadena Superior Court Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Rashad McCoy, 24, is charged with murder for the September 2012 slaying, however his attorney argued that McCoyþÄôs arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
McCoy has also been charged with attempted, willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with special allegations of intentionally discharging a firearm and committing the offense in association with a criminal street gang.(Photo by Walt Mancini/Pasadena Star-News)

PASADENA>> Jury trial began this week for a Pasadena man accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Joseph Jones in 2012.

Attorneys gave their opening statements Monday in the case against Rashad McCoy, 24, of Pasadena, who has been charged with murder and attempted, willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with special allegations of intentionally discharging a firearm and committing the offense in association with a criminal street gang for the September 2012 incident.

On Tuesday, jurors heard emotional testimony from Jones’ brother Christian Jones, 22, about the night he witnessed his brother near death.

“I saw my brother hug Jessie and give him a kiss for the last time and then he looked at me and I didn’t want to say goodbye,” the young man said through tears. “I said, ‘No, I’m not losing you.’”

Throughout much of his testimony, Jones stared across the courtroom at McCoy.

Tuesday’s proceedings were mostly focused on the logistics of a foot pursuit preceding the shooting that involved Jones’ two brothers and two other friends. According to testimony Tuesday, the pursuit began after the suspected shooter approached Jones and the two friends outside their northwest Pasadena apartment complex and asked them to remove everything from their pockets.

McCoy could be sentenced to life in state prison if convicted.

Christian Jones identified McCoy in court as the shooter, however, another witness Juan Carlos Mendoza, 22, testified that he didn’t get a good look at the shooter’s face because he was wearing a hood. Mendoza also said he was not certain when he circled McCoy’s face on a page of six pictures Pasadena detective William Broghamer showed him a couple of weeks after the incident.

Christian Jones testified that he told Broghamer he was “90 percent sure” but didn’t see the shooter’s face during questioning following the incident; however, in later testimony he denied that and said he did clearly see the shooter’s face.

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Attorneys for McCoy, however, have argued that the case is one of mistaken identity and the evidence and witness testimony do not prove he was there when the shooting occurred. McCoy’s attorney argued in the October preliminary hearing that Broghamer and detective Cuong Pham coerced identification from witnesses.

“Really what Rashad and I know is that it’s a tragedy that Joseph lost his life and we are not trying to lessen that tragedy at all, but it would be another tragedy if Rashad got sent to prison for the rest of his life for doing something he didn’t do,” public defender Cris Contreras said Monday.

Tuesday’s hearing also included the end of testimony from Jones’ father David Jones and Los Angeles County Coroner’s medical examiner Raffi Djabourian.

McCoy sat in court Tuesday wearing a purple collared shirt and dark slacks, taking notes on a piece of paper and whispering occasionally to Contreras.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Christian Jone’s father also identified McCoy as the shooter. The error has been corrected.